Explosions shock Colombo residents

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 March 1999, 05:04 GMT]
Three explosions within two hours rocked the City of Colombo and the surrounding areas yesterday. A bomb exploded in a Colombo bound train at 9.25 p.m. injuring four and another bomb exploded in Pettah bus station at 11.05 p.m. killing one and injuring twelve passengers. A few minutes after this incident a transformer blew up in a nearby junction, said sources in Colombo.

Two railway engineers, I.M.H. Kumara and Indraratne were injured and two others sustained minor injuries in the explosion that completely destroyed a railway carriage.

Police Special Task Force (STF) commandos check the wreckage of bus in Colombo.photo-AFP

The Deputy Engineer of the Railway said that the cost of the damage is about Rs.300,000/-.

The explosion occurred between Maradana and Dematagoda, when the train which came from an outstation was returning to the shed after its last stop at Pettah, sources said.

In the bomb explosion at the Pettah bus stand, 22 passengers were in the bus which was bound for Galle when it exploded, sources said. The injured were admitted to the Colombo General Hospital.

Three of the injured are in a serious condition, hospital sources said.

The driver of the bus, H.D.Pathamsiri, told the investigators that he saw a young couple getting into the bus and placing a travelling bag behind the driver's seat shortly before the explosion.

The Police are investigating the incidents.

The government analyst, Y.Mahesan, said that officers are holding inquiries at the sites of yesterday's bomb explosions.

Menawhile officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board said that transformer explosion has resulted in an interruption of power to about 15 shops in the area. The damage is estimated at a cost of about Rs.200,000/- by the officials.